The Whole Bunch Wines Guide To Grenache
It's the Whole Bunch Wines Guide to Grenache. Grenache is an interesting grape variety. It can be formed into an incredibly rich and powerful red wine, but it also has the ability to become incredibly pale pink rosé wines.
Beyond that, it is renowned for being a friend to Syrah. Throughout the southern Rhône and France, all the way to Australia. Grenache and Syrah, or Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre (GSM) blends are wonderfully complex and compelling creations.
It's time to learn a little bit more about this world-class grape variety.
Image Courtesy of Forbes
The Grenache Grape Variety
Grenache is a low acid grape variety which tends to lead to earlier harvests and wines which are often relatively high in alcohol content, although careful management of yields is required for the best results.
The taste is unique and exceptional. The standard Grenache wines are wonderfully soft and supple, with a distinct spiced quality. You'll also get a wealth of intense black fruit flavours. Plums, blackberry, blackcurrant, blueberry and much more.
Where Is Grenache Grown?
Historically, Grenache is thought to have come from Aragon in Spain. However, France is THE key area for Grenache, more specifically southern France. Throughout the Languedoc, you'll found it blend with Syrah and Mourvèdre in wines which often emulate the style of their neighbours to the north - the southern Rhône.
In the southern Rhône Valley, we once again have these blended wines, primarily Grenache and Syrah. You will undoubtedly have sampled them yourself, from the regions of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Côtes du Rhône. These greatly loved styles of wine are very much built on the back of Grenache, hence why they are bursting with those beautiful black fruit flavours, as well as distinctly spicy.
Image Courtesy of Wine Searcher
Moving away from France, we find Spain. Here, we have a completely different style of Grenache. In Spain, Grenache is labelled as Garnacha. It is within the Navarra region of northern Spain that you'll find those unique pale pink rosé wines. These rosado wines undergo very light maceration, so you'll just get light and tart red and black fruit flavours.
Now, we move to the other side of the globe. Without a doubt, Australia dominates the new world in terms of the production of Grenache. It is not just bulk produce though, it is truly exceptional wine. Once more, we will find these GSM blends. Yet, here Mourvèdre is instead called Mataro. In many respects, they emulate the wines of southern French, although they are less constrained by rules and regulations which means you can find more unique and exciting creations which defy French conventions. We will take a look at one of those very shortly.
What Do We Stock...
We are going to highlight three of our absolute favourite Grenache wines for take-away or to drink in at Whole Bunch Wines. If you're looking for a cheese-pairing the staff will have you covered as well! We've also got heaps more on the shelves, so stop in and say hello.
Henschke Henry's Seven
Henschke was established in 1868 and has continued to produce wine through six generations of family grape-growing. This is a GSM blend, with some Viognier for good measure. The deep crimson liquid exudes notes of violet, sage, cocoa, black pepper and a wealth of fresh fruit flavours.
Jericho Wines Talara Vineyard Grenache
This speaks to what we mentioned earlier. It is a completely different style of Grenache. This offering from Jericho is partially whole bunch fermented which brings a whole new level of lightness and freshness to the wine. A real vibrancy that eventually develops into the classic rich Grenache on the palate.
Château de Caravettes GSM
Back to the GSM, this time we're in southern France. It is beautifully balanced, full-bodied, rich and expressive. The nose emanates with aromas of rosemary, mint and sweet black fruits. Then, the palate will bring forth notes of raspberry, cherry, plum and blueberry. This silky creation is a real staff favourite that we couldn't recommend enough.
Don't Miss Out!
Make sure to check out our wine tastings and monthly wine club, if you want to try great wines like the ones mentioned in this blog post. Links below:
- Manchester Wine Tastings & Events
- Sauce Subscription (Monthly Wine Club)